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Chain Reaction closes Los Altos store.



 
 
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  #31  
Old December 5th 17, 05:38 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Duane[_2_]
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Posts: 401
Default Chain Reaction closes Los Altos store.

On 05/12/2017 10:37 AM, jbeattie wrote:
On Tuesday, December 5, 2017 at 2:36:14 AM UTC-8, wrote:
You're f****** nuts....All these places beat the **** out of Cameron Park.

Jay, you really don't know what you're talking about. As one who has lived in both places, I am here to attest to the fact that cycling in and around the Sierra foothills has Bay Area cycling beat all to hell. It's probably the best cycling area in the entire country. The Bay Area is too freaking crowded.


According to Joerg, riding in the Sierra foothills is a nightmare.

I can't comment on current conditions in SCV, and I haven't lived in the Sierra foothills, but I've ridden there plenty of times coming back from Tahoe and Yosemite and on day rides. I like the Sierra a lot. I've done the Death Ride a few times and many tours. But the run-out through the foothills is not the best part. HWY 49 has some difficult climbs and atmospheric old towns, but it is not like riding to an alpine lake on Ebbetts or any of the scenery in the high Sierra. It isn't like riding on the coast or to the coast -- or even Skyline to the Bay. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...yline_Blvd.jpg

No doubt the Sierra foothills are more rural and less crowded than much of the SCV, and I'm not saying anyone has to move to a city. When I lived in the SCV, my favorite rides were not in the city. They were in the mountains or on the coast. It was "fun" and not miserable as Joerg claims. Plenty of bikes are being sold in the SCV, I'm sure -- not including all the bikes being sold from the Specialized headquarters in Morgan Hill.

As far as the best riding in the country goes, I much prefer riding through varied greenery. http://beautifulhoodriver.com/images...3_11-19-10.jpg I do love the smell of riding through the brown hills in California, but even then, I prefer the set between the valley and coast because there is more bay and eucalyptus -- great smells. Not just oak and grass.

-- Jay Beattie.








Anyone can ride where they want. I don't mind riding in Montreal. I do
that for my commute and don't have many complaints. When I'm not
working, I sometime ride down to the old port if it's a weekday and
there aren't a gazillion bikes on the road there.

But generally on weekends I'm heading west away from the city. It's not
really much about the traffic but I'm about 30km from the Ontario border
and the road quality is a lot better there. Anyway, most weekends I'm
with my club group and it's easier with wider roads and less traffic.

The hills and scenery west of Montreal are nice but I don't mind the
scenery in Old Montreal either.
Ads
  #32  
Old December 5th 17, 05:45 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
JBeattie
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Posts: 5,870
Default Chain Reaction closes Los Altos store.

On Tuesday, December 5, 2017 at 7:59:37 AM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
On 12/5/2017 9:37 AM, jbeattie wrote:
On Tuesday, December 5, 2017 at 2:36:14 AM UTC-8, wrote:
You're f****** nuts....All these places beat the **** out of Cameron Park.

Jay, you really don't know what you're talking about. As one who has lived in both places, I am here to attest to the fact that cycling in and around the Sierra foothills has Bay Area cycling beat all to hell. It's probably the best cycling area in the entire country. The Bay Area is too freaking crowded.


According to Joerg, riding in the Sierra foothills is a nightmare.

I can't comment on current conditions in SCV, and I haven't lived in the Sierra foothills, but I've ridden there plenty of times coming back from Tahoe and Yosemite and on day rides. I like the Sierra a lot. I've done the Death Ride a few times and many tours. But the run-out through the foothills is not the best part. HWY 49 has some difficult climbs and atmospheric old towns, but it is not like riding to an alpine lake on Ebbetts or any of the scenery in the high Sierra. It isn't like riding on the coast or to the coast -- or even Skyline to the Bay. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...yline_Blvd.jpg

No doubt the Sierra foothills are more rural and less crowded than much of the SCV, and I'm not saying anyone has to move to a city. When I lived in the SCV, my favorite rides were not in the city. They were in the mountains or on the coast. It was "fun" and not miserable as Joerg claims. Plenty of bikes are being sold in the SCV, I'm sure -- not including all the bikes being sold from the Specialized headquarters in Morgan Hill.

As far as the best riding in the country goes, I much prefer riding through varied greenery. http://beautifulhoodriver.com/images...3_11-19-10.jpg I do love the smell of riding through the brown hills in California, but even then, I prefer the set between the valley and coast because there is more bay and eucalyptus -- great smells. Not just oak and grass.


You have good points but at some point it becomes 'mine
(bike, girlfriend, car, watch, whatever) is better than yours.

https://www.travelwisconsin.com/uplo...and-bikers.jpg

People like what they like, which is great. Celebrate diversity!
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rWGBaVBXa9s/maxresdefault.jpg


Absolutely, and I have no doubt that commuting to work in the middle of nowhere is better than commuting in a city with lots of cars. I got yelled at this morning, so I'm hating the city. I probably deserved to get yelled at. Oh well.

-- Jay Beattie.

  #33  
Old December 5th 17, 07:23 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Frank Krygowski[_2_]
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Posts: 7,511
Default Chain Reaction closes Los Altos store.

On Tuesday, December 5, 2017 at 5:36:14 AM UTC-5, wrote:
You're f****** nuts....All these places beat the **** out of Cameron Park..

Jay, you really don't know what you're talking about. As one who has lived in both places, I am here to attest to the fact that cycling in and around the Sierra foothills has Bay Area cycling beat all to hell. It's probably the best cycling area in the entire country. The Bay Area is too freaking crowded.


I can understand people having different preferences. But Joerg has posted
photos of roads in his area that look like paradise to me. Trouble is, he
says they show how deadly road riding is. That makes no sense.

- Frank Krygowski
  #34  
Old December 5th 17, 08:42 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Joerg[_2_]
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Posts: 6,016
Default Chain Reaction closes Los Altos store.

On 2017-12-04 20:55, jbeattie wrote:
On Monday, December 4, 2017 at 4:14:05 PM UTC-8, Joerg wrote:
On 2017-12-04 15:49, jbeattie wrote:
On Monday, December 4, 2017 at 1:00:54 PM UTC-8, Joerg wrote:
On 2017-12-04 12:39, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 12/4/2017 2:26 PM, Joerg wrote:
On 2017-12-03 14:34, jbeattie wrote:

What is causing this bike market downturn?

It MUST be fake news! You, Joerg, have assured us that by
building bike trails we'd get millions of Americans to give
up their cars forever. And every year, more segregated kiddy
paths have been built. Some cities have doubled their bike
mode share, all the way from 0.2% to 0.4%! That's like a 100%
increase!


Sure it is, and for America that is quite big. Weren't you the
guy always touting the health benefits? Calculate the health
Dollars saved here.


So I'm not going to believe any biased communist industry
data. I _know_ bike sales have skyrocketed! Those bike
dealers are not reporting sales so they can cheat on their
taxes.


We were talking about the Silicon Valley. I can imagine that
cycling down there isn't exactly fun. Up here in the Sierra
foothills bike sales are brisk. Else successes such as these
would not happen:

You're f****** nuts.



Man, you have a fuse almost as short as that of El Presidente :-)


... SCV has some of the best riding in the state. Ever climbed
Mt. Hamilton?
http://www.bikecal.com/MustDoClimbs/...tHamilton1.jpg The
Santa Cruz mountains?
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/5d/51/71/5...u-are-here.jpg




That's not what we consider best riding out here. This is what we
consider best riding:

https://cdn-files.apstatic.com/mtb/7...1437192781.jpg


I'm talking road. Silly me, I forgot don't ride on the road because
it is too dangerous -- but you will ride on an unprotected precipice
where a fall means death. O.K. And by the way, that picture is what
-- 50-75 miles from your house up HWY 50? How do you propose to get
there? I post pictures of Mt. Hood which is also about 50 or so miles
away, but at least I can ride there.


You go there by car with the bike in back. We also have nice and
pristine trails within riding distance which I use regularly. Some even
for utility rides which is rare in other areas.



This is real life in the Bay Area:

http://ww4.hdnux.com/photos/34/07/22.../1024x1024.jpg

And no thanks, I'll never want to live there.


Nobody is saying you have to. And BTW, that's SF and not the Santa
Clara Valley.



Same thing by now, it all one gigantic clog.


Out to the coast? Old LaHonda to the coast was awesome.
https://www.southbayriders.com/forum...hments/172370/ I
still miss that. I miss Hamilton except for the crack seal. I
finished first in the Mt. Hamilton Challenge (200K/10K climbing)
-- that was a great day.


Congratulations. I never participated in a race and never will. Not
my cuppa tea. I am also not the top notch sports guy like you are.


It is now referred to as a "gran fondo." I never did do the Mt.
Hamilton Road Race. I knew I would get dropped by the 120lb guys.



Yeah, but you'd get'em on the way down :-)


Have to take your victories where you can get them.


I've never felt the urge to achieve a victory in cycling.



All these places beat the **** out of Cameron Park.



They sure do not.


All I hear from you is how incredibly dangerous it is to ride in
Cameron Park and the environs. It sounds like a living hell.



I never said that. I said it is risky on some roads here. Because it is.


... Why
would anyone want to live there who likes to ride on the road?



Road bikers usually prefer Folsom and sometimes El Dorado Hills. There
you have much better connections to the bike path system. Some time next
year we will, too, at least such that the stretches on busy roads shrink
to 2-3mi which I find ok. There are two new large developments going in
and Folsom requires builders to provide cycling infrastructure, else no
permits. This will effectively connect the end of a long a long
singletrack (goes all the way to Placerville and then paved on to
Camino) with the American River bike path system and also provide an
easy road with bike lanes from El Dorado Hills into Folsom with same
bike path system access.


Meanwhile, when I lived in the SCV, I commuted thousands of miles,
raced, raced track (no velodrome in Cameron Park the last I checked),



A velodrome is the worst kind of cycling I can imagine. Like running in
a squirrel cage.


rode through dramatic redwood forest to the ocean one day and then
the next day road up the brown hills of the Hamilton range to a late
Victorian observatory. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lick_Observatory
Riding through the strawberry fields near Watsonville was amazing --
like riding through a jar of jam. I frequently rode over to Aptos and
stayed at a friends house up in the hills, looking down at Monterey
Bay. Not going to get that in Cameron Park.


Try that again nowadays.



... The SCV also has a strong cycling community -- at least it
did when I was there. Remember Tom Ritchey, Keith Bontrager? --
Jim Blackburn (Blackburn), Jim Gentes (Giro), Mike Sinyard
(Specialized), Rock Shockm( in '90s), etc., etc. Wake up and
smell the coffee. The SCV was the belly-button of the bike
industry and has some spectacular cycling.


I am not into famous people, they don't matter much to me. What I
want is pristine nature, preferably no motor-vehicle traffic and
the occasional river access. A brewpub here and there can't hurt.


The point I was making is that the SCV has a very active cycling
community, a deep history in the bicycle industry and many riding
opportunities. Riding in the SCV was a lot of "fun" for me. It would
not be fun for you because you find road riding scary, bad, etc.,
etc. If you're not getting run over by a car, you're dying of
exhaust inhalation.


People don't die from that but they can die earlier than necessary, due
to diseases such as lung cancer. Why on earth would I put up with
inhaling Diesel soot and other particles when we have nice singletrack
all over the place? This week I have to get brewing supplies in Folsom.
I might just take the MTB and use some singletrack on the way. It's got
a rack so it won't matter which bike I take, it's just slower and tire
wear is much higher.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/
  #35  
Old December 5th 17, 08:56 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Joerg[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6,016
Default Chain Reaction closes Los Altos store.

On 2017-12-04 18:43, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 12/4/2017 4:00 PM, Joerg wrote:
On 2017-12-04 12:39, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 12/4/2017 2:26 PM, Joerg wrote:
On 2017-12-03 14:34, jbeattie wrote:

What is causing this bike market downturn?

It MUST be fake news! You, Joerg, have assured us that by building bike
trails we'd get millions of Americans to give up their cars forever. And
every year, more segregated kiddy paths have been built. Some cities
have doubled their bike mode share, all the way from 0.2% to 0.4%!
That's like a 100% increase!


Sure it is, and for America that is quite big. Weren't you the guy
always touting the health benefits? Calculate the health Dollars saved
here.


My little suburban village has a population of about 3000.



That hardly needs bike paths. I never advocated building them in such
small communities, just as I'd never be a fan of building one in our
neighborhood where we have enough side streets.

Again, my case for bike paths is on major thoroughfares where it's
almost bumper to bumper during peak hours.


... If there were
a 0.2% increase in bike mode share, that would mean six new riders. For
a segregated bike path, one million dollars per mile is a bit on the
cheap side of things.



Tell the folks to learn from the folks in Nebraska how to build those
for much less:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/art...8293/table/t1/


... So how much should the village spend on kiddie
paths to improve the health of six people?


Open your horizon and think about all the other communities. Here we
have almost a million people between the Sacramento Valley and the
Sierra Foothills. Probably about 1.5% ride. That's 15000 people.


So I'm not going to believe any biased communist industry data. I _know_
bike sales have skyrocketed! Those bike dealers are not reporting sales
so they can cheat on their taxes.


We were talking about the Silicon Valley. I can imagine that cycling
down there isn't exactly fun. Up here in the Sierra foothills bike
sales are brisk. Else successes such as these would not happen:

http://teamcycleandtscafe.com/contact-about-us/1768830

http://www.bisonbikes.com/


So you have two bike shops, one in business for about 12 years, and one
that just opened? And we're supposed to be impressed?


For a community under 20000 people, yes.


Let's give it a few years. Bike shops come and bike shops go, just like
other businesses.

Jay mentioned Tom Ritchey, Keith Bontrager, Jim Blackburn, Jim Gentes
and Mike Sinyard. I can mention Arni Nashbar. All those people did big
things in the bicycling business. It's weird that you demean them as
being mere "famous people" but want us to be impressed by a couple tiny
shops, one of which is still wet behind the ears.


I didn't demean anyone. I buy stuff at Nashbar. What I am saying is that
knowing such people isn't important to me.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/
  #36  
Old December 6th 17, 12:51 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
JBeattie
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 5,870
Default Chain Reaction closes Los Altos store.

On Tuesday, December 5, 2017 at 11:42:26 AM UTC-8, Joerg wrote:
On 2017-12-04 20:55, jbeattie wrote:
On Monday, December 4, 2017 at 4:14:05 PM UTC-8, Joerg wrote:
On 2017-12-04 15:49, jbeattie wrote:
On Monday, December 4, 2017 at 1:00:54 PM UTC-8, Joerg wrote:
On 2017-12-04 12:39, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 12/4/2017 2:26 PM, Joerg wrote:
On 2017-12-03 14:34, jbeattie wrote:

What is causing this bike market downturn?

It MUST be fake news! You, Joerg, have assured us that by
building bike trails we'd get millions of Americans to give
up their cars forever. And every year, more segregated kiddy
paths have been built. Some cities have doubled their bike
mode share, all the way from 0.2% to 0.4%! That's like a 100%
increase!


Sure it is, and for America that is quite big. Weren't you the
guy always touting the health benefits? Calculate the health
Dollars saved here.


So I'm not going to believe any biased communist industry
data. I _know_ bike sales have skyrocketed! Those bike
dealers are not reporting sales so they can cheat on their
taxes.


We were talking about the Silicon Valley. I can imagine that
cycling down there isn't exactly fun. Up here in the Sierra
foothills bike sales are brisk. Else successes such as these
would not happen:

You're f****** nuts.


Man, you have a fuse almost as short as that of El Presidente :-)


... SCV has some of the best riding in the state. Ever climbed
Mt. Hamilton?
http://www.bikecal.com/MustDoClimbs/...tHamilton1.jpg The
Santa Cruz mountains?
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/5d/51/71/5...u-are-here.jpg




That's not what we consider best riding out here. This is what we
consider best riding:

https://cdn-files.apstatic.com/mtb/7...1437192781.jpg


I'm talking road. Silly me, I forgot don't ride on the road because
it is too dangerous -- but you will ride on an unprotected precipice
where a fall means death. O.K. And by the way, that picture is what
-- 50-75 miles from your house up HWY 50? How do you propose to get
there? I post pictures of Mt. Hood which is also about 50 or so miles
away, but at least I can ride there.


You go there by car with the bike in back. We also have nice and
pristine trails within riding distance which I use regularly. Some even
for utility rides which is rare in other areas.



This is real life in the Bay Area:

http://ww4.hdnux.com/photos/34/07/22.../1024x1024.jpg

And no thanks, I'll never want to live there.


Nobody is saying you have to. And BTW, that's SF and not the Santa
Clara Valley.



Same thing by now, it all one gigantic clog.


Out to the coast? Old LaHonda to the coast was awesome.
https://www.southbayriders.com/forum...hments/172370/ I
still miss that. I miss Hamilton except for the crack seal. I
finished first in the Mt. Hamilton Challenge (200K/10K climbing)
-- that was a great day.


Congratulations. I never participated in a race and never will. Not
my cuppa tea. I am also not the top notch sports guy like you are.


It is now referred to as a "gran fondo." I never did do the Mt.
Hamilton Road Race. I knew I would get dropped by the 120lb guys.



Yeah, but you'd get'em on the way down :-)


Have to take your victories where you can get them.


I've never felt the urge to achieve a victory in cycling.



All these places beat the **** out of Cameron Park.


They sure do not.


All I hear from you is how incredibly dangerous it is to ride in
Cameron Park and the environs. It sounds like a living hell.



I never said that. I said it is risky on some roads here. Because it is.


... Why
would anyone want to live there who likes to ride on the road?



Road bikers usually prefer Folsom and sometimes El Dorado Hills. There
you have much better connections to the bike path system. Some time next
year we will, too, at least such that the stretches on busy roads shrink
to 2-3mi which I find ok. There are two new large developments going in
and Folsom requires builders to provide cycling infrastructure, else no
permits. This will effectively connect the end of a long a long
singletrack (goes all the way to Placerville and then paved on to
Camino) with the American River bike path system and also provide an
easy road with bike lanes from El Dorado Hills into Folsom with same
bike path system access.


Meanwhile, when I lived in the SCV, I commuted thousands of miles,
raced, raced track (no velodrome in Cameron Park the last I checked),



A velodrome is the worst kind of cycling I can imagine. Like running in
a squirrel cage.


It's a hoot. Nothing like a steep banked track. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8eVHE1kcuU Alpenrose is my neighborhood bike track. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CrwptiYYLE You have to go at least 12mph or you fall off the turn. I learned the hard way. I rode there on my track bike and got a slow puncture that manifested in the middle of a turn.

For the BMX set, we have the Lumberyard, inside and out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtRNS0CuVnA


CX at Alpenrose is like a country fair: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDT-_OmWItU&t=2s

Lots to do around here if you're into racing of any kind. This could be YOUR team: http://teambeerpdx.com/


People don't die from that but they can die earlier than necessary, due
to diseases such as lung cancer. Why on earth would I put up with
inhaling Diesel soot and other particles when we have nice singletrack
all over the place? This week I have to get brewing supplies in Folsom.
I might just take the MTB and use some singletrack on the way. It's got
a rack so it won't matter which bike I take, it's just slower and tire
wear is much higher.


Do you know anyone who died of lung cancer related to diesel exhaust inhalation? Not that I'm recommending huffing diesel exhaust, but really, why do you even register this as a risk of ordinary road riding?

Trails are great. Ride your trails. A lot of people like to ride on the road, and the roads can go some spectacular places -- places you could never get by trail, like Bridge of the Gods. http://www.dronestagr.am/wp-content/...-C.L.-Pano.jpg You can take a boat, however. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=spTfdG8B4CY

-- Jay Beattie.
  #37  
Old December 6th 17, 08:11 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
John B.[_3_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 5,697
Default Chain Reaction closes Los Altos store.

On Tue, 5 Dec 2017 10:23:15 -0800 (PST), Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On Tuesday, December 5, 2017 at 5:36:14 AM UTC-5, wrote:
You're f****** nuts....All these places beat the **** out of Cameron Park.

Jay, you really don't know what you're talking about. As one who has lived in both places, I am here to attest to the fact that cycling in and around the Sierra foothills has Bay Area cycling beat all to hell. It's probably the best cycling area in the entire country. The Bay Area is too freaking crowded.


I can understand people having different preferences. But Joerg has posted
photos of roads in his area that look like paradise to me. Trouble is, he
says they show how deadly road riding is. That makes no sense.

- Frank Krygowski


I ride in a city that is always either first or second on the list of
most chaotic traffic in the world. See https://tinyurl.com/y8tgkrgj
and have never found it as terrifying as some of the descriptions I
read here.

My guess is that in fact, in several of the shots the number of two
wheel vehicles is likely greater then the average Usian has ever seen
or imagined.

Certainly most of the photos were taken at stop lights as evidenced by
the motorcycle driver's foot/feet being on the ground but the vehicle
density is not unusual for week day "rush hour".

--
Cheers,

John B.

 




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